ZeD
| ZeD | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Rae Hull & McLean Greaves |
| Presented by |
Sharon Lewis Ziya Tong |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | McLean Greaves |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBC |
| Original release | March 18, 2002 – 2006 |
ZeD is a Canadian variety television program and website. The series premiered on CBC Television in March 18, 2002 and ran to 2006. Hosted primarily by Sharon Lewis and Ziya Tong, ZeD publicized creative works from Canada and other countries, including a substantial portion of material created by viewers and new artists. ZeD thus considered itself to be "open-source television."
The website claimed thousands of users, and the series, while somewhat obscure, was nominated for several awards and influenced some US television. A music album, ZeD: Live Off The Floor, was also spun off the series.
The concept of ZeD was originally developed by Rae Hull, who was the regional director for CBC in Vancouver, British Columbia. and new media pioneer McLean Greaves. It was initially imagined as being ", hip and fast moving, with no segment longer than a few minutes," but beyond this contributors would influence the content.
In November 2001, CBC invited Canadians to come up with cheap but intelligent creative ideas in connection with the anticipated series "zed," and received 1,000 efforts. When ZeD premiered on March 18, 2002, it was still considered to be in development, and its first four weeks from March to April were experimental. It was not advertised, except for CBC informing the press, since ZeD was meant to be discovered among viewers who would then inform other viewers. CBC was still hoping to attract contributors, and Hull added, "I'd be happy if people discovered ZeD and made their own decisions about it."
In March 2002, the series was called ZeD beta v 0.1. The name ZeD appears to have been chosen to suggest the series was uniquely Canadian, since zed is how Canadians pronounce the letter "Z." The ZeD website was also launched at the time. Both the series and website were based in Vancouver.
The program, which aired every weeknight on the CBC, aired music, short films, animation, visual art and spoken word pieces from around the world. The subject matter, which ranged from comedy to drama, was mature and could include nudity and profanity, and thus episodes began with a humorously worded call for viewer's discretion. Each episode was 40 minutes long, with no advertisements during the show.
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